MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
7.3.2007
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Charles Tannock, Tunne Kelam and Vytautas Landsbergis
on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
on the attack against Galina Kozlova, board member of Mari Uchem and chief editor of the literary magazine Ontšõko
B6‑0086/2007
European Parliament resolution on the attack against Galina Kozlova, board member of Mari Uchem and chief editor of the literary magazine Ontšõko
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia, particularly that of 12 May 2005 on violations of human rights and democracy in the Republic of Mari El in the Russian Federation and that of 13 December 2006 on the EU-Russia Summit in Helsinki on 24 November 2006,
– having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EC and Russia, which entered into force on 1 December 1997,
– having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and in particular to Article 10 thereof,
– having regard to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages signed by the Russian Federation on 10 May 2001,
– having regard to the Constitution of the Mari Republic (Mari El), which recognises Mari as one of the State languages, and to the 1995 Act on Linguistic Matters that declares Mari El a multi-ethnic republic and provides for the right of all citizens regardless of their ethnicity to maintain and develop their native language and culture,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas, on the evening of 25 January 2007, Galina Kozlova, member of the board of the organisation Mari Uchem (Mari Union) and wife of Mari Council Chairman Vladimir Kozlov, was attacked and severely beaten in Yoshkar Ola, the capital of the Russian Mari El Republic; whereas the attacker tried to take Galina Kozlova's bag, which contained documents of Mari Uchem, as well as a manuscript by a Mari writer,
B. whereas, according to Mari Uchem, the attack could not have been an ordinary robbery attempt,
C. whereas Vladimir Kozlov, Galina Kozlova's husband, was attacked in a similar way on 7 February 2005 and in May 2006 prevented from visiting Finland by Russian officials,
D. whereas, in October 2006, at a seminar organised by the Student Union of the University of Helsinki on problems faced by non-governmental organisations in Russia, Vladimir Kozlov sounded a clearly too optimistic note on the future of his organisation, pointing out that no Mari El ethnic rights activist had been the target of an assault for over a year, but this allegedly less hostile attitude to Mari Uchem has now been brutally reversed,
1. Reaffirms its conviction that the multiethnic character of the Russian Federation greatly contributes to the cultural and linguistic diversity of Europe and is a phenomenon that all citizens of the Russian Federation are justifiably proud of, and that it should be preserved for the benefit of all Europeans;
2. Strongly condemns the attack on Galina Kozlova, which has not so far led to any conviction or even arrest;
3. Appeals to both the Interior Ministry of the Mari El Republic and the Russian Interior Ministry, as well as to the local department of the Federal Security Service (FSB), to do their utmost to find the perpetrator and to bring him to justice; finding the perpetrators of this and all previous attacks on Mari El activists and bringing them to justice should be seen as a litmus test for further progress in EU-Russia relations,
4. Reiterates its call on the local and federal authorities to respect their obligations under international law and to take adequate steps to facilitate the practical implementation of the provisions of the State Constitution and other legislation relating to the maintenance and development of minority languages and cultures;
5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Governments of the Russian Federation and Mari El.